Back to Degrassi
by MidnightMoon2
Summary: Takes place at the start of the new season, after AFD. Clare's coming back to school, she's still with Eli and has missed him like crazy, and Darcy's coming back home! Features most everyone in the cast, mainly Clare, Eli, Darcy, and Adam.
1. Chapter 1

Clare's POV

My eyes fluttered open to the hoarse screams of my parents. Ugh, not again! What time is it this time? I looked at the alarm clock on my dresser and groaned. 3:30? What sane people fight at three freakin' o'clock in the morning? Oh that's right. My parents. From the sound of it they were just getting started, so I decided to go online. I logged onto Facebook and found Darcy online. So I decided to chat with her.

Clare Edwards: Hey Darcy! I miss you sooo much. How's Kenya? I thought you didn't have internet connection there.

Darcy Edwards: Hey Shortstack. I miss you too. I guess that I should tell you…I'm at an airport! I'm coming up to Toronto for a surprise visit!

Clare Edwards: Really? Oh My Gosh this is so cool! How long are you going to stay?

Darcy Edwards: At least a couple of months…

Clare Edwards: Awesome!

A the ominous crack of a breaking plate suddenly rang through my ears like thunder.

Clare Edwards: I think I should warn you though…Mom and Dad have been fighting. A lot.

Darcy Edwards: Well, then I'm most definetly coming! I should be there tomorrow evening. That's your first day back at Degrassi from break, right? I'll pick you up after school.

Clare Edwards: Oh Yeah! I'm gonna say it now, you won't ever recognize Degrassi if you come to pick me up.

Darcy Edwards: Why? What happened?

_Clare Edwards is offline._


	2. Chapter 2

Clare's POV

The next morning I was actually excited to go back to school. Mainly because I missed Eli. And also because I was about to see my big sister! I was so happy I almost didn't care we had to wear uniforms. That is until I walked downstairs.

"Aww…look how cute you look in your uniform! That blue goes so well with your eyes." My mom gushed. She thought she was a good actress, but I doubt even Sandra Bullock could've acted convincingly enough to disguise the black circles under her eyes.

"Thanks, I guess. The only good thing about going back to school is getting to see Eli." I said. _Even if I can't even give him a hug or hold his hand during school hours._ I thought to myself. We'd been sent a handbook along with the company to order our uniforms from last week. I had a bad feeling though that I was the only kid going to school who actually _read _it.

"You're not still on that boy, are you sweetie?" my mom asked.

"Yes, I am, matter-o-fact. I have a right to date who I want, Mom." I snapped.

"Now now, no need to snap. If you really like this boy then I just may have to meet him." she said.

"O…okay. I'll ask him on the way to school. He's picking me up…" I was suddenly interrupted by a horn cutting me off. "And that's him right now. I'll see you this afternoon." I said.

"Don't you want some breakfast?" she said, handing me a piece of toast. I grabbed it, kissed her on the cheek, and ran out to the car to another chorus of impatient honking. I opened the car door and looked into the beautiful pair of emerald eyes and the tell-tale smirk belonging to Eli.

"Took you long enough, Blue Eyes. _Some _of us wanted to get to actually kiss their girlfriend before they got to school." he said. I sat down next to him. He wrapped his hands around my waist. He leaned forward and I felt his lips brush mine. I leaned in, knitting my fingers into his hair and crushing my lips against his. Our kiss was hungry, thirsting for each other's company. After a couple of minutes, I pulled away.

"Eli, I promise you. If the school says you did badly on your French exam, I'm going to go tell them how wrong they are." I said. He blushed, and started up the hearse.

"So Edwards, how was your break?" he asked.

"Long, loud, and sleep-deprived." I said. The words sounded harsh, but after they left my mouth I realized how true they actually were.

"Sorry. Mine was a little better. I slept half the break I swear." He said.

"Looks like it did you good. I think you might be the only guy at Degrassi who's going to look hot in his uniform." I said

"Thank you, you're not looking too bad yourself, Edwards." he said

"Okay, so I have a question for you." I said.

"Yes…." he said,

"Okay so my mom wants to have you over for dinner." I blurted out. But I said it really fast so the words all meshed together.

"Lo siento, no abla espaniol." He said. **(In case you didn't know, he said I'm sorry, I don't understand Spanish).**

"Would you like to come over for dinner sometime so you can meet my parents?" I asked. At first he looked shocked. Then he smiled

"Of course I would. But do you think they'll like me?" He asked.

"I'm sure they will." I said. Just then we pulled up to Degrassi. It didn't _look _any different, but I knew it was. Eli pulled into a free spot, and I unbuckled my seatbelt. I started to open my door.

"No, allow me." Eli said. He hopped out of the car and ran over to my side. He opened the door for me.

"Well, thank you. Somebody's obviously been reading their classic literature. I haven't seen that kind of chivalry since, well, ever. I mean, I've seen it in movies and stuff. But never actually had anyone _do _anything like that for me." I rambled. Crap, sometimes Eli makes me sound like a babbling idiot.

"You talk too much, Edwards. He said. Then he pulled me in for a kiss. I kissed him back and felt myself start feeling dizzy. Then I remembered the new rule.

"Eli!" I nearly screamed. I blushed and looked into his smirk.

"Wow, I didn't know I was _that _good of a kisser. Most women actually have to do it to get that reaction." He said jokingly.

"Oh you wish you were that good, Goldsworthy." I giggled. He's so cute how he kids around like that…oh right. The rules. "Eli, we can't kiss at school."

"Why not? Alli and Drew used to suck face way worse than we were."

"Did you even read the new school handbook?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes, until it got boring." He said.

"When did it get boring?" I asked.

"On the first page." He said sheepishly. I rolled my eyes.

"No PDA allowed." I said. "I can fill you in on all of the other rules later."

"Fine. Hey here come's Alli and Jenna." he said. Then his eyes widened. "Clare" he whispered, "is Jenna pregnant?"

I thought about telling him no, but the new uniforms weren't exactly the kind you could hide a baby bump under. "Yes, but don't you dare tell her I said anything."

"I won't, I won't. Relax Edwards." he said reassuring me. Then he spotted Adam running towards us. "I'm going to…" he began.

"Go, you won't be interested in the girl talk." I said. He kissed me on the cheek winked, and raced over to Adam.

"If he doesn't shape up, you two are going to be in detention sooner than Owen." Alli said. I turned to look at her. She was in her uniform, fingering it with a look of pure disgust on her face.

"Yeah, but he is cute. You have to give him that." I said dreamily. Jenna smiled, directing my attention to her. Her shirt did actually show her baby bump, and she had her arms cradled beneath it so anybody could tell. She saw me eyeing her with a quizzical look, and answered my unspoken question.

" I figure that since everybody's going to find out soon enough, I can just get it over with now." she said.

"Of…course, Jenna" Alli said. We decided to start walking inside. Suddenly I remembered Darcy.

"Hey guys, guess what." I said.

"What?" they said eagerly.

"Darcy's coming to visit!" I squealed. Alli squealed too, because she saw Darcy as some kind of raining fashion goddess.

"Who's Darcy?" Jenna asked. So Alli and I proceeded to tell her all about my amazing big sister.

**So did you guys like this chapter? Please review! I'll accept story ideas, because I want to at least mention most of the Degrassi cast at some point in the story. I'm purely Eclare though so if it effects that in any way, don't tell me.**


	3. Chapter 3

Eli's POV

"So how's it going between you two lovebirds?" Adam asked. He was teasing me, which was apparently one of his new favorite hobbies.

"Amazing. She's so beautiful. I just love her big blue eyes, her perfect lips, how she blushes whenever I touch her." I actually did think all of this was true, but I normally wouldn't admit it to anyone but her. I just wanted to make Adam squirm.

"Eww. You're so disgusting." Adam said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"When you find a girl you think is super hot and all you want to do is kiss her, then you'll be BEGGING me for romantic banter and kissing tips. Remind me once you get a crush to have Clare and I give you a kissing lesson. We'll be exhibit A, B, and C." I said, smirking at the last part. Adam pantomimed barfing, but he blushed too.

"Hey, Eli?" he said.

"What, Adam." I said.

"Do you think girls think about guys as much as guys think about girls?" he said, seriously curious.

"I dunno, man. I dunno." I said.

Clare's POV

"You know, Alli, I really don't know if guys think about girls as much as girls think about guys. I could ask Eli, but he'd probably think it was a stupid question." I said. Jenna had went to her first period class, but Alli and I had Media Immersion. We had a couple of minutes before class, and Alli was checking her email. The question was part of her Flirty Girls' Weekly Newsletter.

"Clare, why don't you sign up for the newsletter? It's got lots of ideas to turn on your boyfriend." she said suggestively.

"Are you kidding or serious?" I asked. Why would she think I'd want that…oh. I almost forgot I have a boyfriend now. As I processed what she was saying, my faced turned a deep shade of scarlet.

"Ah-ha. See? You _do _think that way with Eli." she said, giggling with glee.

"Doesn't matter, Alli. I'm not breaking my promise to God, unless we get married." I said, twirling my promise ring.

She sighed, and decided to change the subject. "So are you going to tell Darcy about Eli?" she asked.

"Of course. She's the only one who I'm sure will actually approve fully about Eli." I said.

"Well, good for you. Anyways, let's talk about someone more important, like Drew. He asked me to take him back." she said.

"Alli, you can't. He cheated on you. I don't want him to hurt you again." I whispered.

"Ladies, if you're finished with your conversation, I would love to start the lesson." Mrs. Oh said.

"Sorry." we murmured. Dave and Wesley were silently laughing at us from across the room, and I sent them my best glare. Wesley's eyes widened and he froze. Dave threw his hands up in mock surrender. I smirked, which caused an eye roll from Alli.

-Skip to the end of 4th Period-

I sat in my desk, ignoring the science teacher's lecture on lab safety, and staring at the clock. It read 11:59. _Come on, time! Go faster! I need to see Eli! _Thankfully, the lunch bell rang just before I spontaneously combusted. I grabbed my books and nearly ran out of the classroom to my locker. I started trying to unlock my locker…_2...23..._when suddenly I felt a pair of arms encircle my waist. I squealed, dropped my books, and turned around to find a smirking Eli inches away from my face.

"Well, well. I'd almost think I scared you or something." he said sarcastically.

"If you'd bring your ego level down about 500 times, move your hands from my waist so we don't get detention, and carry my books to English for me for the next week, then _maybe _I'll admit it." I said. He pouted, but obliged.

"Somebody's learning from the best." He said. I put my books in my locker, then giggled as Eli hovered his arm inches over my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I asked between giggles.

"Well, if there's no PDA allowed, then I may as well make an effort to stay close to you." he said.

"Hey do you want to hear something amazing?" I asked.

"Simpson's lifting all of the rules?" he skeptically asked.

"No, my sister's coming!" I squealed.

Eli's POV

She has a sister? Why wasn't I informed about this? I am her boyfriend. "I didn't know you have a sister." I said. I hoped my look of disappointment didn't show through, but obviously it did.

"Eli, I didn't want to tell you about her because everybody who knows who my sister is suddenly goes from knowing me as Clare to knowing me as "Darcy's little sister". I really didn't want the guy I'm in love with to know me as that, but to know me as me, Clare. No expectations for me to be like her." she said.

Clare's POV

"The guy you love?" Eli asked, stressing the question. Oh, crap. I was ranting again and said stuff out loud that I didn't mean to. I mean, I do love him but I didn't want him to know yet.

"Out of that whole rant that's the only part you picked up?" I asked, blushing a deep scarlet.

"Yes, because I've been waiting weeks to hear you say that. I love you, too." he said.

"Really?" I said, nearly squealing with glee.

"Really. I love you, Clare Edwards. I love you, all of you, for now and forever." he said. Then he quickly kissed me, then we made our way to the lunch hall.

_Skip to 3:00 p.m._

Darcy's POV

I sat in the first class section of the airplane, typing away on my laptop. I'm so excited about seeing Clare again! I've missed her so much, and it'll be awesome to see how grown up she's gotten. I wonder if she has a boyfriend or anything. Probably not if she's still wearing that old private school uniform.

"Attention fliers, the plane is beginning its descent. Please fasten your seatbelts and stow all tables." the pilots voice demanded. I complied, and began wondering about Degrassi. Clare said I wouldn't even recognize it. If that's true then something rediculus would be happening like the kids wearing uniforms, and no couples making out on every hallway corner.

"Impossible." I mumbled, as I popped a piece of Stride gum into my mouth.

**Just as a note, I don't own Degrassi, Stride, Facebook, or any trademarked items I mention in this story. The only thing I own is the plot. **

**(I wish I owned Eli though!)**


	4. Chapter 4

-_Skip to right after the last bell-_

Eli's POV

As soon as the bell rang I nearly ran over to Clare's locker. She was already there, shoving her books into her bag as fast as she could.

"Hey Eli." she said distractedly.

"Going somewhere, Edwards?" I asked.

"Don't you remember? My sister's picking me up today." she said.

"Oh. Well can I still walk you out will you bite my hand off?" I said, plastering a huge smirk on my face.

"Of course you can." she said. We started walking outside when Alli fell into step beside Clare.

"OMG! Clare, I saw your sister standing outside during History! It was so hard not to run outside and give her a big hug."

"Really?" she squealed. She and Alli started talking about what she was wearing and all of this girly stuff. Then Adam walked over with some big news for me.

"Hey man, you're not gonna believe this but there's this SERIOUSLY HOT chick outside the school right now. It's weird, though. She reminds me of Clare."

Alli and Clare had been giggling through Adam talking, and by the end they couldn't take it anymore.

"Adam, that's my big sister!" Clare exclaimed. Adam shot me a confused glance, then turned back to Clare.

"I always thought you were an only child." Adam said.

"Well, she's not. She has the coolest, smartest, most gorgeous big sister out of anybody I've ever met." Alli gushed. We all kept walking and talking, when we finally reached the door. The second we stepped outside the school doors, I grabbed Clare's wrist and pulled her towards me. As she faced me, I gently put my hand on her cheek and brought my lips to hers. We started to kiss, and I decided that until she pulled away we weren't going to stop.

Clare's POV

Gosh, why does Eli have to be so darn irresistible? He's an incredible kisser, to say the least. A sexy incredible kisser. He moved his hands to lock them around my waist, and locked mine around his neck. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip, asking entry. I obliged, and his tongue was in my mouth. We were making out passionately, when I heard an impressive amount of throat clearing from behind me. I kissed Eli one more time, a sweet little peck, then pulled away. I turned around to see who was clearing their throat at us, and found myself looking up into the kind brown eyes of Darcy.

"Darcy!" I squealed. I ran into open arms of my big sister. "You look great! I've missed you so much!"

Darcy's POV

"Clare! I can't believe it's you! Last time I saw you, you had glasses, long hair, and I don't think you even knew what making out was." I said. She blushed even redder, and the boy she was just kissing smirked, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, a lot's changed. The whole no-glasses thing's a long story. I'll tell you later." she said.

"So how did you too meet?" I asked.

"This dummy right here," she said, nudging him, "ran over my glasses. Luckily, I'd just gotten laser eye surgery, so it was fine."

"Umm, excuse me. I'm not a dummy." the boy said.

"Controversial." she said, laughingl I figured it must be an inside joke.**(It actually is, if you remember from Better Off Alone part 1, Clare said her writing was good and Eli said "Controversial".)**

"Hey, I was the only one except Alli who noticed those big beautiful blue eyes." he said, kissing her on the nose.

"Ugh, Eli." she said.

"By the way, Alli would like to say hi to you too." Alli said. I looked over at her and pulled her into a big hug.

"How's it going, Bhandari?" I asked.

"Terrible! Did you see what we have to wear now?" she said, gesturing to her clothes. For the first time I took a good look at what everybody was wearing. All of the kids were wearing polos and khaki pants.

"Since when does Degrassi do uniforms?" I asked.

"Tell ya later." Clare said. "Oh, I almost forgot. Darcy, this is Adam. Adam, meet Darcy." she said, gesturing to the other boy with them.

"Hi." he said.

"Hey." I replied. It was quiet for a few moments, then Eli spoke up.

"Clare, I have to get Adam home before 4:00 or his mom's going to kill us both." he said. She nodded, and they kissed one more time, causing Alli and Adam to become disgusted.

"Okay, so Clare, I rented a car. Let's go home." I said. She nodded vigorously, waved goodbye to her friends, and grabbed my hand. We raced to the car.

"Clare?" I began.

"Yeah?" she said.

"What happened to Degrassi?"


	5. Chapter 5

Clare's POV

"What happened to Degrassi?" Darcy asked.

"Not here. Let's go to that park we used to love." I said. Some of the kids at this school didn't know that I was part of the chain of events that led to the Vegas Night incident. I intended to keep it that way.

"Okay. Can we stop at the Dot first? My jet lag's killer." Darcy said. I nodded vigorously, recalling a conversation Eli, Adam, and I had earlier that day.

_BACK AT ENGLISH CLASS_

"_I'm so tired." Adam whined. _

"_Poor baby. Did you stay up all night practicing pick-up lines?" Eli asked._

"_Eli, what did we talk about." I said, the tone of my voice both teasing and reprimanding._

"_Sorry." he mumbled. I rolled my eyes_

"_Dude, you're so whipped." Adam said._

"_But he gets to kiss his girlfriend whenever he wants as long as it's not during school, so he's not complaining." Eli said. _

"_Okay, Mr. Third Person. Actually, I was up all night helping Drew prepare his "take me back, Alli" speech. Not as fun as it sounds." Adam said._

"_Well it better be a heck of a good speech for him to get her back." I said. _

"_I don't care about that. How do I stay awake?" Adam asked. _

"_Coffee. I'm going to the dot after school once I drop Adam off at home._

"_Can't wait that long." Adam said. Then he walked away from us._

"_What was that all about?" I wondered out loud._

"_No idea." Eli said._

_END CONVERSATION_

We pulled up to the Dot about twenty minutes later. Let's just say she took a wrong turn and couldn't remember where anything was. I began to search for Eli, and my search was extremely short-lived. I mean, there are only so many hearse-owners in Toronto who get cravings for a triple-shot caramel mocha.

"Hey, Darcy, I'm going to go talk to Eli." I said, feeling my cheeks flush bright cherry red as from the corner of my eyes I saw him look at me. I could almost feel the smirk that without a doubt was gracing his mouth at the moment.

"Clare." she said, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes flickered to Eli.

"Hey did you know Peter works here?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"Really? I'll go talk to him. You want a white chocolate mocha, right?"

"You got it." I said. She rolled her eyes, ruffled my hair, and headed inside,

Eli's POV

I sat in the front seat of the hearse, staring at Clare. She giggled as she ran over to the car.

"Hey blue eyes." I said, staring directly into those bright baby blues.

"Staring is impolite." she said as she climbed into the car.

"Well, when I see something so lovely it's hard to look away." I said, causing her to blush.

"Well, when I see someone this drop-dead sexy I just can't stay away." Clare said, scooting over next to me. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards me.

"If I see a woman who's so perfect, all I can do is this." Then I tilted my head down and kissed her. The kiss was like nothing I'd ever ever experienced. Her soft lips moved fluidly against mine, creating the perfect harmony. She moved her hands to my head and knitted her fingers through my hair. So I unlocked my arms from around her waist and started rubbing small circles on her back with my thumbs. We started seriously making out when we were interrupted by a rude knocking on the windshield.

Clare's POV

Darcy. She has impeccable timing, I'll give her that. I looked into Eli's eyes, and their brilliant green reflected the desier I'm sure mine were mirroring.

"Hey Clare, we have to go. We have some serious catching up to do. Hey Eli." she said, in her perky manner.

"Hi Darcy." Eli said, reveling in my embarrassment. He kissed me once more, and I could feel his smirk against my lips.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yes, you will. I'll pick you up for school." he said. I got up and out of the car.

Darcy handed me my coffee and we started walking away. "I would've waited longer to come get you, but I didn't want your coffee to get cold." Darcy said.

"It's fine. Let's just go to the park. "I said. I started sipping my coffee, soaking in the sticky sweet flavor. As we got into Darcy's car, I saw a look of disbelief and contentment on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I just can't believe my little Clare's old enough to be dating." she said as we headed off for the park

"Well, it's happening. Even mom knows." I said. She stared at me, flabbergasted. Obviously, she didn't think mom would approve of my hearse-driving boyfriend. "Yeah, I don't get it either."

She laughed. "Well, what do you think's going to happen when dad finds out?" Darcy asked.

"He's barely ever around anymore, so maybe I can avoid that disaster for a few more weeks. It's not that I don't want him to know about Eli, I do." I said, searching for the right words in my mind.

"You just don't want Dad to keep him from dating you." she said. I looked at her and saw that she totally understood.

"Thanks Darcy. We're here." I said. I jumped out of the car and ran for the giant sycamore tree.

"Okay, now Darcy I just want you to sit down and relax because this is going to take a while."

Darcy's POV

"Okay, so in order to tell you what happened to Degrassi I'll have to tell you how I met Eli. And to tell you _that_, I'll have to tell you about an awful rumor that was spread about me." she said. _Wow, I never actually thought that Clare could possibly be involved in anywhere near as much drama as I was. _So Clare began to tell me everything that had happened this year to her.

Adam's POV

I can't believe it. Today I met the amazing, dazzling, hot, sweet, caring, hot, adorable, (did I mention hot?) woman known as Darcy Edwards. It's hard to believe someone with the same DNA as Clare could possibly be that gorgeous. Eli probably would kill me for saying that, but he doesn't have to know. I wonder what Clare will say when she finds out I like her sister?


	6. Chapter 6

Clare's POV

"…and all she could say when I told her everything was, "Wow"." I texted to Alli. Darcy was in the bathroom, so I decided to get Alli up to speed. My phone belted out the lyrics to "Sweet Dreams" by Beyonce, so I checked my new text.

It read, "That's gr8 Clare, but tell me more about the makeout sesh u had w/Eli! ;)" I rolled my eyes and texted back,

"It was amazing, Alli. I have 2 go because Darcy's coming back. I'll text you later." I hit send and turned off my phone just as Darcy was walking back over.

"So, do you want to go home, now?" I asked. She nodded, and we walked back to her car. Luckily, the one route Darcy _did _remember was how to get to our house from the park. We arrived at the house ten minutes later, and were welcomed by screams coming from the kitchen.

"Is that Mom and Dad?" she asked.

"Yep." I said, looking up at Darcy. She looked confused, and I couldn't blame her.

"How about I go tell them you're here, okay Darcy?" I asked. Without waiting for a reply I walked into the kitchen. My mother was sitting at the counter with her head in her hands, and my father was pacing. They had apparently reached a break in their fight. My mom looked up and saw me. Her face was red and blotchy, so you could tell she'd just been crying.

"Clare, honey. Where have you been? I was getting worried." she said, sniffling slightly as she talked.

"Mom. Dad, there's someone who wants to see you two." I said timidly.

"Honey, this really isn't a good time." my dad said.

"Trust me, this is someone you'll want to see." I said. I walked out into the hallway and grabbed Darcy's hand. I started to pull her, when she broke into a dead run for the kitchen. I heard out parent's shocked gasps, and then sobs which I could only assume were from joy. I smiled and headed towards the kitchen.

Eli's POV

"It was incredible. It's like when we were kissing, the only thing that held me to the earth was her." I said to my parents. I know most guys wouldn't want to talk to their parents about this kind of stuff, but after what happened with Julia, we've gotten a lot closer.

"That's wonderful, Eli. I can't wait to meet her." my mom said. She had been cooking us hamburgers, when she walked over to me. She lifted my chin up so I had to look her in the eyes.

"I know how much she must mean to you. After the Julia thing you wouldn't talk to any girls for months. Now you've got Clare, and I want you to promise me that you'll cherish every moment with her. Don't let her have any regrets, whether their for things that should've or shouldn't have happened."

"Eli, why don't you invite her over for dinner?" my father asked, looking up from his book.

"Yes! We could have her over for dinner this Friday!" my mother exclaimed. I smirked at her enthusiasm, which caused an eye roll from her. "Don't you go smirking at me, Elijah. Just because your teachers find it charming doesn't mean I do." I was just about to give her one of my world famous smart ass comments when my phone started vibrating on the table. I picked it up to find a text from Adam. I opened it and started smirking halfway through the message.

It said, "How can I tell if a girl likes me?"

I replied, "She pins you down and starts making out with you."

He said, "Ha ha very funny."

I repiled "It just depends. Who's the girl?"

He said, "Darcy."


	7. Chapter 7

**(Two things. One: This is my idea of Eli's parents, not the ones on the show. Second: I don't own anything except the story idea.)**

Clare's POV

I sat in the middle of Aunt Red's Seafood Shack with my family. After the tear-filled reunion between my parents and Darcy, they decided to take us all out to dinner. We all knew that this was Darcy's favorite place to eat.

"Clare, honey...why didn't you tell us Darcy was coming?" my father asked.

"Well, she wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, it was 3:00 in the morning when she told me. Why was I up that early? Oh yeah. My parents were screaming at each other." I said, the sarcasm coating my voice like cloying bittersweet cough syrup.

"Clare. There's no need to be rude. We're celebrating your sister's return." my mother said. I rolled my eyes and looked down at my plate. I tuned out when my parents started asking Darcy about Africa, because she'd already told me everything. I soon blocked out their entire conversation, having only a mind for Eli, when I was interrupted by someone saying, "Clare." My head shot up.

"Clare honey, why don't you tell your father what you've been wanting to tell him?" my mom said. I gave her a confused look,

"What do you want to tell me honey?" my dad said, starting to sound both worried and irritated. _Of course he's irritated._ I thought to myself. He's mad because I told mom something I didn't tell him. I was still confused about what though. I looked at my mom, and saw her mouth "Eli".

"Oh dad. There's this...boy I like. I didn't want to tell you because I was scared you wouldn't let me see him. And we're already together so it would be very rude to break up with him and I really don't want to break up with him." I said, knowing that I was babbling to put off my father's response. I watched his expression as he processed the information. Then a broad grin broke out on his face, and relief spread across mine.

"Clarebear, it's fine. I totally get that you're growing up. I'm just glad that K.C. boy finally got up the nerve to talk to you." my father said, feeling like he was totally on top of everything.

"You...you think I like K.C.? That jerk won't even stay with his girlfriend. His _pregnant _girlfriend." I said disdainfully.

Eli's POV

"Hey mom. I need to go over to Adam's. Now." I said. She looked at me quizzically, then gestured to the platter of burgers she had just set on the table.

"Honey, I just made dinner. What could possibly be so important that you would want to skip one of my meals?" she inquired.

"Maybe he wants to get away from your toxic food?" my dad said, sneaking up behind my mom. She smacked him with a dishrag and asked me again.

"Let's just say that Adam's about to get way in over his head." I said, giving my dad a knowing look.

"Honey, let him go. This is man stuff." my dad said. Then he looked at me, hoping he did good. I rolled my eyes, grabbed my keys, and ran out the door. I revved the engine in my hearse and drove as fast as the state speed limit would allow. In five minutes I was at Adam's house. I jogged up the steps, and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Torres opened the door, and gave me the typical once-over, and scowled at me as I smiled.

"Hi Mrs. Torres. Can I speak to Adam?" I tried to ask without provoking her. She allowed me in, and I jogged up to Adam's room. I burst into his room to find him lazily gazing up at the ceiling. "Somebody to Love" by Queen was playing through his laptop speakers. I laughed, and walked over to Adam.

"Hi Eli. Isn't love great?" Adam said. I laid down on the bed next to him, and sighed.

"Yeah. Okay Adam, so here's the thing: I understand that you have a crush on Darcy, but I don't think she likes you back." I said. Adam looked over at me, confusion spreading across his face.

"I thought she was acting like she liked me." he moaned. I patted his back.

"I know. Love can be harsh. But don't give up yet. I happen to know of a girl at our school who I think has a crush on you." I said.

"Who? Please tell me it's not Bianca." he said.

"No, her name rhymes with Leona Join." I said, hoping he could connect the dots.

"Fiona Coyne likes me?" he said, sounding enthusiastic.

"From what I can tell. Girl's don't just act like that to anybody." I said.

"Great." he said.


	8. Author's Note

**Hey guys-**

** So…I have good news and bad news. I'd ask which you want to hear first…but since you can't really answer through the computer, I'll just tell you the bad news first. Okay….here goes…I'm not going to be able to write this story anymore. I'm 110% blocked, and I feel terrible about it. Now here's the good news…this story is up for adoption. **

** THAT'S RIGHT! One lucky reader could take this story and do whatever they wanted! I'm really hoping somebody out there will want to take this story under their wing. What's sadder than an abandoned story? Well…lots of things actually, but come on guys. Do it for Clare and Eli! **

**Sincerely, the author**


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